Colin Cowherd believes he’s uniquely qualified to talk about chemistry.
And as ESPN’s coverage of the NBA Finals reaches its crescendo with Game 7 between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder, chemistry has been all anybody can talk about. We’ve already lamented the aura — or lack thereof — and the Worldwide Leader has done its best to patch together fixes by listening to social media, whether it be the superimposed Larry O’Brien Trophy or the return of starting player lineup introductions.
But what it can’t patch together or make a quick fix of is chemistry. Prior to the NBA Finals, Awful Announcing wrote about how the booth consisting of Mike Breen, Doris Burke, and Richard Jefferson is still searching for its voice. But with reports surfacing that Burke could be the odd woman out after Sunday, they might not get time to find that voice or that chemistry, for that matter.
“I don’t like the chemistry on the ESPN NBA broadcast. It’s not the people, it’s the chemistry,” Colin Cowherd told Nick Wright on his The Colin Cowherd Podcast. “As you know, there’s a reason Mike [Wilbon] and Tony [Kornheiser] have been a hit show for 25 years or plus — their chemistry is amazing. There is a reason [Joe] Buck and [Troy] Aikman went Fox to ESPN together; they have tremendous chemistry. [John] Madden and [Pat] Summerall. It’s really, really hard.”
“Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, and Breen had remarkable chemistry. And for 23 years, or however long ESPN’s had the NBA, they have struggled with pregame shows, postgame shows, the perfect pairing,” Cowherd continued. “And they had it. And then they blew it up. My guess is that Van Gundy can be critical of the league. There was David Stern pushback from time to time on critical interviews from Bob Costas or others, which needed to be done.”
Cowherd doesn’t buy that broadcast teams move the needle on ratings. Still, with the NBA shifting to NBC and Amazon under new media deals, he’s curious to see if new production styles and on-air talent can actually make a difference in how fans tune in and experience the games.
“ESPN does a lot very, very well, in my opinion,” he said. “I think they’re so good at the Little League World Series, SportsCenter, the NFL Draft, Scott Van Pelt show, Mike and Tony. There’s just a lot of really talented people there. The College GameDay. They’ve just built really, really solid foundational pieces of broadcasting. I have great admiration. I do not think they’ve been good with the NBA.
“Now, I think Mike Breen’s as good as anybody — including Marv Albert — I’ve ever heard do basketball. But I think for 20 years — and I don’t do this — I think they’ve underproduced and underdelivered with the NBA.”
Cowherd isn’t trying to turn this into a wholesale referendum on ESPN as a whole. But there is a frustration that, despite having top-tier talent, the network has not fully captured the NBA’s appeal. And in echoing a point made by The Ringer’s Logan Murdock, Cowherd wants to get closer to the players. He wants cameras in their homes, deeper storytelling, real access, not the “superfluous” eight-second halftime shows that feel like filler.
He’s not calling out ESPN or the individuals on the broadcasts. He just believes that before Buck and Aikman, ESPN and the NFL both undersold their product. It was Fox, NBC, and CBS that made NFL broadcasts feel like a big deal, which is something ESPN still hasn’t done with the NBA.
Ultimately, Cowherd’s critique is less about the network or its personalities and more about the missed opportunity. The NBA’s bigger than ever, and its coverage should feel like it. ESPN just hasn’t nailed that connection or energy. With the league’s media rights moving to NBC and Amazon, in addition to the Worldwide Leader, maybe some fresh voices and new approaches can finally shake things up.
And maybe get the chemistry right, too.